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Keith Moon’s Drumkits: Borrowed/Hired Kits

Whether due to missed transit, previous night’s abuse or other inexplicable reason, Keith occasionally borrowed another group’s drumkit, solemnly promising to return it intact. This page highlights some of the known borrowed kits.

1965 – Premier kit

Revised: The kit pictured here, is likely borrowed from Premier for this photo shoot. A new Premier ad from March 1966 shows Keith with this striped Premier kit. The pictures look to be a photo shoot, given the types of the shots. The purpose is likely for this ad and nothing more. Keith’s red glitter Premier kit might not have been finished for the photo shoot.

The kit Keith used in this photo is a Premier kit with the same finish as the Premier kit that Doug Sandom (the original Detours drummer) owned (though the stripes on the finish go the opposite way on the two drumkits).

The picture of Keith is from the February 1966 “Beat Instrumental” magazine, though photo was likely taken in 1965. From what is known, Keith didn’t own a kit with this finish.

Doug Sandom of the Detours playing his Premier kit, which he would end up lending to The Who for a month after they kicked him out of the group.

Click to view larger version. Doug Sandom playing his Premier kit with the Detours. From left to right, John on bass, Colin Dawson on vocal, Sandom on drums, Roger on lead guitar, playing an Epiphone.

January 1965 – Trixon kit, Ready Steady Go!

Keith playing Trixon kit on Ready Steady Go!, 29 Jan. 1965.

Keith used a Trixon kit once on Ready Steady Go!, 29 Jan. 1965. (See trixondrums.de for more on Trixon drums.)

Brand: Trixon

Model: Luxus 0/200

Finish: Blue Croco

One 13″ mounted tom

One 16″ floor tom

One 20″ bass drum

One 14″ x 5″ snare

Hi-hat

Crash

Ride

Click to view larger version. On Ready Steady Go!, 29 Jan. 1965.

Mid-1965 – Early White Pearl English Rogers kit, Top of the Pops

English Rogers were Rogers drums made under licence in the UK by Boosey & Hawkes in Edgware, North London, between 1961 and 1967–8.

This particular kit was rented repeatedly in the early 1960s by the BBC for broadcasts of Top of the Pops from their Manchester studios from well-known local music shop Johnny Roadhouse.

Specs:

Snare is a chrome. Could be either his favourite type of Ludwig 400 series Supraphonic or his next favourite, the Premier 2000 series. Both are chromed alloy.

Tom looks like a 14″ x 8″

Bass drum is 22″x14″

Floor tom size is 16″x16″

18″ or 16″ ride or crash

20″ or 22″ ride cymbal attached

Premier flush base stand, etc.

The tom holder is the famous Rogers Swiv-o-matic type.

On Top of the Pops, 10 June 1965.

19 June 1965 – Premier kit, Uxbridge Blues and Folk Festival

19 June 1965, at the Uxbridge Blues and Folk Festival. Courtesy SoundCityChris.

19 June 1965, The Who appeared at the Uxbridge Blues and Folk Festival. Keith is using what appears to be a blue-finished Premier four-piece kit of unknown origin.

6 Aug. 1965 – Premier kit, Ready Steady Go!

6 Aug. 1965, The Who appeared on Ready Steady Go! at Wembley Studios in London using borrowed gear as their regular gear was already in Richmond for the 5th National Jazz & Blues Festival gig that night.

On 6 Aug. 1965, The Who appeared on Ready Steady Go! at Wembley Studios in London using borrowed gear, as their regular gear was already in Richmond for the 5th National Jazz & Blues Festival gig that night. Keith is using unknown Premier four-piece kit of unknown origin.

September 1965 – Lee Kings kit

25 Sept. 1965, Keith playing the Lee Kings drumkit.

On 25 Sept. 1965, The Who played in Elsinore (Helsingör), Denmark, at 9 p.m., then rushed 20 miles to play a midnight show in the capital Copenhagen at “KB Hallen.”

According to The Who in Denmark & Norway & Finland, the Swedish band The Lee Kings’ drummer Lasse Sandgren lent his kit to Keith because the Who’s equipment had been sent directly from England to Copenhagen.

“The Who’s equipment were sent directly from England to Copenhagen, so Keith asked me if he could use my drums. I had put weights on my bass-drum pedal, to get more “swung”, and that made the pedal more stiff, something Keith was uncomfortable with. I had to remove the weights before he used it.”

Just two weeks after, the two drummers met again, this time in Gothenburg, Sweden. Also this time Keith borrowed Lasse’s drums. Lasse Sandgren later sold his kit and bought a brand new Slingerland kit.

October 1965 – Mascots kit

Moon with Mascots’ kit, Stockholm, Sweden, 10 Oct. 1965.

Keith borrowed the support act’s — the Mascots — drumkit because all of the equipment was sent to the venue they played later that day.

They appeared in Stockholm at 2:00 pm and went on to Gothenburg for two evening shows. Due to a flight mix-up, The Who’s equipment had been shipped directly to Gothenburg for the later show. The gig went ahead with equipment borrowed from the supporting acts The Overlanders, The Mascots and The Moonjacks.

On 31 Dec. 1965, The Who appear on the popular TV show Ready Steady Go! in a special called “The New Year Starts Here.”

Keith uses a Red Sparkle English Rogers drumkit borrowed from The Dave Clark Five during rehearsals. According to the book, Anyway Anyhow Anywhere, Keith’s drumkit arrived for the actual broadcast, although photos of the broadcast show the same kit now fitted with a “The Who” logo on the bass drum skin. Why change drumskin to one with a Who logo, for a rehearsal?

1968–69 – Premier kit (studio only)

For some IBC Studios dates for the recording of Tommy, Keith used a borrowed White Marine Pearl Premier kit. (He also used his Champagne Silver Premier kit for these recordings.) This kit was possibly borrowed from Who roadie Tony Haslam.

1971 – Ludwig kit (studio only)

This is likely a ’60s Ludwig kit in Champagne Sparkle, based on the lug design and the tom mounting hardware. Note that there are only two tom toms.

Both rack toms appear to be 13x9s. The bass drums are probably 22x14s, and the two floor toms may be 16x16s.

On the snare drum (pictured below), material (possibly cotton) is taped to the edge of the drumhead. This is done to reduce a buzzing sound that often can occur from when playing a snare drum, especially around other instruments.

Ca. March 1971, in the studio, Record Plant, New York, with Ludwig kit.

In the studio, ca. March 1971, with Ludwig kit. The distinctive Remo crown logo can clearly be seen.

In the studio, ca. March 1971, Record Plant, New York, with Ludwig kit, with snare drum muffling visible below microphone. A Premier Everplay Plus drumhead can be seen on the tom in the foreground, with tom at left a Remo head, with its distinctive crown logo. (See closeup at right.)

Same photo as left, closeup of the the distinctive Remo crown logo.

15 December 1971 – Seattle

For a show at the Seattle Center Coliseum in Seattle, Wash., on 15 December 1971, Keith used a kit apparently borrowed from the supporting act, as one of the Who’s equipment trucks had crashed en route from San Francisco. Pete also used gear borrowed from the opening act.

In the photos below, Keith appears to be using a two-bass-drum Rogers kit, with two rack toms and one floor tom.

The Who at the Seattle Center Coliseum, 15 Dec., 1971

Photos copyright and courtesy of Jeff Gledhill. Please respect the owner of these photos and do not reuse them for public or private use.

1974 – Vistalites

In 1974, Keith used another transparent drumkit (as he’d previously used a Zickos transparent kit in 1970–1971). This time it was from Ludwig, who launched their own line of acrylic drums called Vistalites. This kit comprised:

Two 24″x14″ bass drums

Two 18″x16″ floor toms

Eight mounted tom toms: 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″, 13″, 14″, 15″, 16″

Custom-built drumrack

Keith used this drumkit performing on the U.S. TV show “Wide World In Concert: Midnight Special” on ABC on 8 Oct. 1974. As a gimmick, he put goldfish in the floor tom to his left.

1974 – Premier “Stardust” kit

A mid-’60s blue/black pearl finish Premier kit used by Keith Moon in the movie Stardust as J.D. Clover, drummer with “The Stray Cats.”

All heads and stands are original. It is in the same condition as it was in 1974, apart from the faded Stray Cats logo (and a layer of dust). The logo has been removed and reattached, presumably when it was used on Keith’s double gold kit later in the movie, along with another identical Stray Cats logo. There has been a logo attached to the beater head of this drum too, which is also white, presumably this “other” logo. Keith used his own cymbals for the shoot.

Keith in the film Stardust.

This kit was obtained from the production company after the shoot, and has remained in private hands until purchased by Rock Stars Guitars recently.

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